Montrose Film Festival seeks student entries

"Raiders of the Lost Ark,", starring Harrison Ford, will be one of the films spotlighted at the Montrose Film Festival.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark,", starring Harrison Ford, will be one of the films spotlighted at the Montrose Film Festival. (Courtesy of Paramount Video)

Alicia Banks, alicia.banks@latimes.com

As the Montrose Film Festival gears up for its fifth year later this month, the popular event is looking to showcase the works of area students.

Festival organizers are still accepting short, original pieces by youth who attend an elementary, middle or high school in the Crescenta Valley, Montrose, Glendale and La Cañada. The winning piece will receive a $300 scholarship award and will be screened on both days of the event.

Films must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Aug. 16. The festival is slated for Aug. 22 and 23 and is free to the public.

"This is a chance for young filmmakers to get their films shown," said Steve Pierce, a festival organizer. "They may have something they worked on last year or want to create something new."

An individual, group or club can submit a film no longer than 10 minutes. Submissions must be "family friendly," and cannot contain violence, strong language or sexual content.

A four-person committee will screen each submission and judge the pieces on several criteria such as creativity, uniqueness and storyline.

Last year, a group of Crescenta Valley High School students asked festival organizers about screening films created by youth. That drew in roughly 20 film submissions.

"This is a good chance to make the film festival bigger and better each year," Pierce said.

The film festival will be held in the parking lot of Andersen's Pet Shop, located at 2218 Honolulu Ave., Montrose.

This year's festival will begin at 6:30 p.m. both days with musical entertainment before the screenings. Students from Crescenta Valley Prom Plus, a safe after-prom event held each year, will run to get food for patrons at local restaurants.

This year's spotlighted films will be "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," both directed by Steven Spielberg.

For more information about how to submit a student film, contact Pierce at (818) 259-5195.